Belgian Café

Belgian Café has two problems, and neither of them is the food. The first is that you can’t have your dinner on the terrace, which is reserved exclusively for their phenomenally large collection of brews. But we’re not complaining, the indoors is cosy and welcoming, deccked out with dark woods and rustic furniture. Smiling servers were quickly with us, and, after some help with the menu, we dug our bread and butter out of a paper bag, ‘That’s how it is traditionally served,’ explained our waitress.

A tiny shrimp cocktail hit the table quickly – and here we mean tiny shrimp – the cocktail itself was big enough to share and just the right amount of sweet. The follow-up of warm goat’s cheese salad was also a great success and we dug into our mains with great anticipation. The beef stew came with a side of chips and mayonnaise – a real treat, considering how much ketchup the city suffers these days – and these were some of the best fries we’ve tried in a while. Thankfully, the portion wasn’t large, otherwise we’d have missed out on the phenomenally rich beef stew. The beef chunks themselves should’ve been a bit more tender, but the stew was thick, heavy, slightly sharp and incredibly tasty. Our dinner partner’s grilled salmon on the other hand was a bit dry, but smothered in a buttery herb sauce that was almost good enough to make us forget that.

And then came Belgian Café’s second issue: the bill. Between the warm, casual treatment, cosy lighting and the food’s simple presentation, you half expect to give your nan a kiss and walk out; our nan was nowhere in sight, the bill, however, was in sharp focus.

Best French fries I've ever had!!
Although my husband keeps going back for the beer :)

Posted by: mae on 03 Nov ' 10 at 22:52

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Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

best place to be with friends,love the choices of new menu and the beers...

Posted by: Thein Aung on 30 Oct ' 10 at 21:40

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Best for: Family friendly

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: Nice on 29 Oct ' 10 at 10:58

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Best for: Family friendly

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: Myles on 29 Oct ' 10 at 10:55

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Best for: Family friendly

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: bhel on 29 Oct ' 10 at 10:52

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Best for: Family friendly

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: dain on 28 Oct ' 10 at 07:31

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Best for: Family friendly

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: Kumar on 27 Oct ' 10 at 23:39

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Best for: Romantic

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

now they have new menu which have mussels and some meat and seafood and pork dishes which will make you mouth watering , i like salmonwith cheesee on top delicious .

Posted by: indika nuwan on 27 Oct ' 10 at 10:05

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Best for: Family friendly

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

best place for beer in abu dhabi,,,and mussels,,,no words to say,,i love it,,,,

Posted by: janet ferns on 26 Oct ' 10 at 23:05

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Best for: Family friendly

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Begian Cafe is d best restaurant in AbuDhabi for hvng dinner wth your family .the food is awesome and the beers are of great choice .Wow.........a place 2 visit and if ur planing 4 a weekend than plzzzz go ahead.

Posted by: sam cardozo on 26 Oct ' 10 at 22:57

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Best for: Family friendly

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

A very good restaurnt wth great ambience ,good choice of food and d beers .the food is really very tasty and delicious .

Posted by: Mamun Hossain on 26 Oct ' 10 at 22:49

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Best for: Romantic

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Love the food...beers are authentic. love the total place...

Posted by: derich fernandes on 26 Oct ' 10 at 22:47

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Best for: Romantic

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

A very good restaurant wth a great range of beers and very tasty food .

But recently the dishes started getting smaller and smaller.
The Cheese Platter that was enough for 3 persons is quarter its size now, and barely enough for 1! Same goes for the mussels and cheese fritters.
When we asked the staff what is the reason, they said something along the line of "cost cutting"!
Well if you want to do some cost cutting, do not do it on the costumer's expense... otherwise we and others wont be showing up at all.

Posted by: Fatima on 28 Mar ' 10 at 07:49

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Best for: Romantic

Would you go back to this restaurant? No

The food was not that fresh, atmosphere was very calming and romantic. staff were freindly

Posted by: wazoom on 22 Mar ' 10 at 17:59

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Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

My friends and I were really looking forward to the opening of this restaurant, and we have been a number of times since it opened. Overall opinion is it's a great place for a drink and a snack but we wouldn't eat for dinner there.

The one time we went for the full meal option it was tiny overcooked (over our request) steak + frites, overcooked mussels, average starters, and generally over priced. We'd really looked forward to this restaurant opening, and we loved the beer options, but everything else just lacked slightly.

Hopefully it will develop with time.

Posted by: Mel on 07 Mar ' 10 at 11:01

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Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Literally nothing else like it in Abu Dhabi. buzzing atmosphere, good crowd, great beer and great food. I did think the prices were a bit OTT - particularly for the food as belgian beer is always expensive. Will definitely go back - recommend this for a group of mates rather than a romantic meal though!

Posted by: Dimitri on 03 Mar ' 10 at 07:14

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Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Love eating there... Great beers, great food. To the reviewer above, the mussels are served in that black pot in Belgium. The food is authentic and well made. If you want mussels to be cooked otherwise, start your own restaurant.

Posted by: Tom on 03 Feb ' 10 at 16:25

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Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

I came here for one reason: Belgian Beer. And it delivered better than I thought it would. A great selection of bottles ranging a variety of styles and few nice taps. With a couple of beers, I had mussels and frites. The mussels were okay, but the Provence style I ordered was sloppy and overloaded with celery (?). The frites were a complete disappointment, soggy and not crisp. Stick to the beer and maybe some of the beef dishes. There are bargains in the menu for pairing particular beers with particular entrees (cheaper than ordering beer and food separately).

Posted by: stella on 27 Jan ' 10 at 12:42

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Best for: Family friendly

Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

LOVED the food.
We all did. Very authentic. Felt like kissing the chef actually.
Would recommend the cotelletes flamandes (beef stew) its to die for.
Good service. Child friendly.

Only downsides: kids not allowed after 7PM. Would like to see that changed to 8PM. Bread came with margerine. Hoping that was a one off blib - going again this weekend and hope to see some good butter...